When I Was Reincarnated, All the Heroines Were Stolen by the Fake Hero ~ The Guy Who Dominated With Original Story Knowledge, and Me Who Dominated With Talent. It Seems the World After the Ending Is My One-Man Stage ~ - Episode 59

Episode 59

Sonia was sitting in front of the dwarf’s shop. She was struggling with a complicated-looking box by inserting something like a thin wire into it.

The shop owner was a strong and sturdy dwarf. He stood with his arms crossed. He was watching her hands closely.

Before I could grasp what was going on, a *click* sound rang out. It signaled success.

In the next moment, Sonia stood up quickly and lightly held the box up in the air.

“Alright, it’s open!”

She handed the box to the shopkeeper with a carefree smile.

The dwarf, upon receiving it, furrowed his brows deeply. He then looked up at the sky with a sigh. His shoulders slumped.

“…I give up. Total defeat.”

With that single sentence, the crowd surrounding them erupted in murmurs.

“No way! She already opened that trick box…?”

“What were those three days I spent trying for…?”

“That’s the last of the trick boxes the shopkeeper had, huh… But what a skill. Poor shopkeeper, though.”

Amid cheers and jeers alike, Sonia proudly puffed out her chest.

“Okay, next! Keep them coming!”

But the dwarf shopkeeper shook his head. He then took a drawstring pouch from behind the counter and dropped it heavily onto the table with a *thud*.

“That was already the last trick box I prepared! Go ahead, take it, you thief!”

Though his words were grumbling, his face looked oddly refreshed.

“Yay!”

Sonia shouted joyfully and grabbed the pouch like she was snatching it.

Its heavy weight clearly showed it was full of money.

Swinging it lightly, she looked up at the sky and muttered,

“Alright, maybe I’ll buy something for Osa as a souvenir with this~”

With the show over, the onlookers started leaving, one by one. They were looking satisfied.

In no time, only Sonia and the shopkeeper—who had started cleaning up—were left in front of the store.

I timed my approach and walked up to her.

“Hey, Sonia. Long time no see.”

She turned around quickly.

Then, when she saw my face, her expression lit up instantly.

“Ah! Yutaka! Long time no see!”

Waving her arms excitedly, she ran toward me.

Her lively demeanor hadn’t changed one bit since the old days.

“So, how have you been?”

“Great, great! I’ve been eating tons of delicious food at the castle!”

Her carefree laugh surprised me a bit.

“At the castle…? What kind of work are you doing now?”

“I’m Osa’s bodyguard! The king was trying to give me some fancy, complicated title. But I didn’t really get it and it sounded like a hassle. So I just said, ‘I want to be with Osa!’ and that’s what happened.”

I see.

That’s such a Sonia-like reason.

Seems like she and Princess Osa were still very close.

“So then, I heard Osa was going to come inspect this place. And she asked me to come scout it out first.”

That made sense.

So Sonia being in Kanaloa was because she was part of the advance team for Princess Osa’s inspection.

But just as she said that much, Sonia’s expression clouded over.

“And you know, Nergo is often with Osa too, but…”

The moment she mentioned Nergo’s name, her face quickly twisted into an expression that couldn’t be called just anger or sadness.

And then, as if she couldn’t hold it in anymore, she shouted,

“Ugh, come on! Just remembering it is making me mad!”

She waved her arms wildly on the spot. She was physically expressing her frustration.

Did Nergo do something again…?

I sighed inwardly.

Should I ask? Or should I not?

I hesitated for a moment, but… we were once party members. I couldn’t just ignore it.

“What happened?”

As soon as I asked, Sonia leaned her face right into mine like she’d been waiting for me to ask.

“Listen to this! Nergo is awful! No matter how many promises he makes, he never keeps them. He’s always like, ‘Oh, something urgent came up,’ or whatever. And he just keeps making excuses!”

Her sheer intensity made me instinctively take a step back.

“I-I see…”

“But, well, it’s fine for me, you know? I just sneak into Nergo’s room at night and force him to play with me. But Osa can’t do that kind of thing… She gets really down thinking Nergo hates her…”

Sonia’s face as she looked down was filled with sorrow. It was as if it were her own pain.

She’s still as childish as ever, but… she really is kind, I thought.

“If I get the chance to meet Nergo, I’ll tell him he needs to express his feelings clearly. He’s shy, so I bet he just doesn’t know how to show it properly.”

When I said that, Sonia suddenly looked up.

“Really!? Thanks, Yutaka!”

In the next moment, she jumped into my chest with full force.

I was a bit surprised by the sudden move. But I gave a wry smile and gently patted her back.

“It’s nothing. I just want all of us to get along.”

As I held Sonia, I thought of that other troublesome companion. He was probably still back in the royal capital.

That guy really is a handful.

If he ends up getting truly hated by the girls… well, that’s on him.